The Liberal Democrats: truth and myth

If you live in the UK, you've probably found it hard to escape the news about the upcoming election. And rightly so in my opinion: it's the most significant event of this year, and has the potential to be the most important election of recent decades. In the wake of several political scandals and the “financial crisis”, there's everything to play for, and I'm pleased to see the Liberal Democrats making considerable headway after last week's Leaders' Debate.

Last night, my housemate remarked that he mostly likes the Lib Dems, but doesn't support their pro-Euro policy. This seems to be one of the common complaints about Lib Dem policy, so I decided to check it out this morning:

We believe that it is in Britain’s long-term interest to be part of the euro. But Britain should only join when the economic conditions are right, and in the present economic situation, they are not. Britain should join the euro only if that decision were supported by the people of Britain in a referendum.

The important point here is the Lib Dems' conviction that a referendum must decide the fate of the Euro in Britain, no matter how much they may want it, and that Britain is in no fit state, economically, to enter it now.

Interestingly, the Lib Dems' chancellor has been widely recognised as the best man for the job, and yet the party still supports joining the Eurozone. Personally, I don't think we're ready to join the Euro, if at all, and I'm pleased that the Lib Dems recognise this. I just hope that this minor point doesn't blind others of the Lib Dems' refreshingly honest and progressive manifesto. No party's policies are perfect, but the Lib Dems' are, in my opinion, the closest to attempting to fix what's wrong with this country's politics, policing, education and economy.

Which is why I'm disappointed (though not at all surprised) by news that some media mogols have been abusing their power.

In other related news, please check out TwitVoteUK. It hopes to plot actual voting intentions, attributed directly to actual constituencies, instantly avoiding the flawed uniform swing polling theory. It has a long way to go though: the results are hardly representative at the moment, so please get it known to your friends.